Independence Day 2009
by messersmontana
Summary: 4th of July celebration, a BBQ at Danny and Lindsay's new house in celebration of Jess's recovery from the shooting and the nation's independence. As most of you know, Jess will not die in any of my stories, so in this one she recovered from her injuries.


Independence Day 2009

by messersmontana

Summary: 4th of July celebration, a BBQ at Danny and Lindsay's new house in celebration of Jess's recovery from the shooting and the nation's independence. As most of you know, Jess will not die in any of my stories, so in this one she recovered from her injuries.

Pairings, Don/Jess, Danny/Lindsay, hinting of Mac/Stella, Adam/Kendall, and Sid, is bringing his wife, and Hawkes and Sam Flack are the only non couple in the story.

Disclaimers: Nope, don't own em, don't claim to own em, would have liked to own em, and if I did, Jess would still be alive. So there.

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Danny was in the back yard, getting the grill all set for the party. In the ice cooler next to the grill was the hot dogs and burgers, and lots of beer. This was going to be a great Independence Day, the first for him and Lindsay as a family and parents. Lucy's playpen was under the tree and all ready for her to play in, but he doubted that she'd even make it in there. She'd probably be passed around to everyone all day, even when she fell asleep.

Lindsay was in the kitchen, cutting the lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, and cheese for the burgers. She'd already made fresh pickle relish for the hot dogs. Lucy sat in her high chair, giggling at her mom as she played with her chewy toy that her Godfather, Mac, had given her. "You think mommy's funny do you?" She asked her daughter.

Danny had just walked into the kitchen when she asked that. "Of course she does Linds, just like she thinks her daddy's funny too. She was giggling at me like that while I was getting her dressed this morning." He said as he opened the refrigerator and grabbed some cans of soda for those who don't want to drink beer. "Where is that other ice cooler, babe?" He asked.

Lindsay walked to the pantry and pulled out the second cooler. "Is that one just for the Pepsi and Sprite, or are you gonna put some water in there too?" She asked him.

"I think that the soda and water should be in this one and the beer in with the burgers and dogs. I think it would be better for Sam Flack if we keep the temptation away from her." Danny told her as he filled the cooler with water and soda, then put ice into it.

Lindsay nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Don and Jess should be here with Sam anytime now. He was supposed to be bringing the extra picnic table so that we have enough room for everyone. He said that he'd call so you could help him unload it. Jess said that she'd bring potato salad and Stella is bringing home made baked beans. Sid is bringing home made Independence Day pie, and Adam is bringing the chips with Kendall bringing fruit salad." She said as she counted off with her fingers.

"What is Mac bringing?" Danny asked her.

Lindsay shrugged. "He wouldn't say, just that it was a surprise for Lucy."

There was a knock on the door before Danny could go back outside. "I'll get it."

Lindsay washed her hands and picked up Lucy, then followed after Danny. Jess and Sam stood at the door and Danny was no where to be found. "Is he helping Don bring in the table?" She asked Jess.

Jess smiled at them and reached for Lucy, being careful not to move her still sore shoulder too much. "Yeah, Don had to tie the table down and he's untying it right now. I let Danny know that he could go and help him with it. Well hello there Miss Lucy, are you ready to party today?" She asked her.

Her only answer was a giggle and lots of bubbles as she blew raspberries at Jess. Sam bent down to tickle Lucy under her chin. Jess knew that Lucy Messer had everyone wrapped around her little finger, but mostly her dad.

"Come on into the kitchen, I'm almost done with getting everything ready. I'm leaving it all in the refrigerator until the meat is done cooking. If you wanna put your salad in there Jess or I mean Sam, go ahead that way it will stay cold." Lindsay said as she saw that Sam was carrying the salad while Jess was busy playing with Lucy.

Sam put the salad in the refrigerator and went over to where Lindsay was wrapping everything up and helped her with that. "Thanks for inviting me Lindsay, I know Danny always thought I was a pain in the ass, and you don't really know me, but this means a lot to me." She said.

Lindsay smiled at her and put a hand on her shoulder. "You're more than welcome Sam, and Danny has never said anything about you to me. Did you give him and Don a lot of grief? And you're a part of the family so please feel free to tell me everything you did to them later, huh?" She laughed and so did Sam.

Jess watched them and was glad to see Sam smiling and fitting in. She was doing well with her AA meetings and she's been sober for going on eight months. Jess's brother Mark was even Sam's sponsor, since he was a recovering alcoholic. Mark was supposed to show up too, but he told Jess that he wanted to go and spend the holiday with their folks, and she was glad that he was going to be there since she couldn't this year, because she was here.

They all heard a bang and some swearing coming from the back yard. "Daniel Messer, you know I don't like that kind of talking around Lucy. She's gonna be turning into a recorder when she starts talking and I don't want her saying anything like that." She scolded her husband.

Everyone laughed and Danny's head peaked into the kitchen window. "Sorry babe, I didn't mean it. By the way, do we have a band-aid?" He asked her.

She moved over to a drawer and pulled out a band-aid. "Are you okay?" She asked him.

"I'm fine, it's Flack who got hurt. He got a scratch on his hand and dropped the table. That's why I was cursing." He said as he took the band-aid from her and kissed her. "Thanks babe."

Jess got up and passed Lucy to Sam and then followed Danny outside to make sure that Don was okay. She took the band-aid away from Danny and moved over to inspect Don's hand. "It doesn't look too bad Don, do you want to wash it off before I put the band-aid on?" She asked him.

He shook his head and wiped the blood off on his pants. "No, it's okay, just put the band-aid on." He told her.

Jess put the band-aid on and then kissed his hand. "There, all better now. Can you still help Danny with the table?"

Don kissed Jess and smiled. "Of course I can. How are you holding up? Is your shoulder sore right now? Do you need your medicine or anything?" He asked her.

Jess grabbed his arm as he moved to go into the house to get her the bottle of pain killers that he'd been trying to get her to take all morning. She's been trying to stop taking them and he keeps trying to push them on her. "Don, I'm fine, please stop babying me. You had Sam carry the salad, you wouldn't let me help you with the table. Did you know that I've already held Lucy?" She asked him.

"Jess, you know that you're not supposed to lift anything too heavy, even Lucy right now. I'm trying not to baby you, but I came so close to loosing you and I just want to take care of you. Please be patient with me." He begged her.

He was so cute when he begged and Jess couldn't help but laugh and forgive him. "Okay, I'll let it go this time, but if I wanna hold Lucy later, don't stop me. I promise to sit down before I hold her."

He kissed her again and wrapped his arms around her. "Deal." He told her as he leaned in to kiss her again.

"Get a room you two." Danny said as he walked out of the house with Lindsay and Sam behind him. Sam still held Lucy and was totally enamored with the baby.

"Is that an offer Messer?" Don asked Danny.

Lindsay laughed and pulled Jess away from Don. "No, it's not. Now please go and help my husband get the table set up. Everyone else should be here soon." Lindsay pulled Jess over to the other table and sat her down. "Now you are to sit here and not lift a finger. I know you don't want to be fussed over and babied, but you are still recovering from your wounds and if you want to hold Lucy at all today, you had better take it easy. Got it Missy?"

Jess nodded and smiled at Lindsay. "I understand mom." She teased back.

They all laughed and the guys finished setting up the table just in time. Hawkes, Sid, and his family showed up. Sid's daughters went over and started playing with Lucy and Sam. Don moved over to sit next to Jess. "Hey."

She laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "Hey."

"How are you holding up? Lindsay said that if it got too much for you, there is a lounge chair over by the patio, in the shade and you can lie down on it. We're not fussing over you, but it's there if you need it." He told her as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

Jess smiled and squeezed his knee. "I know and thanks for looking out for me. I'm doing okay. I rested all day yesterday so that I could be a part of this party. I didn't even make the salad until today. I just want to not think about my injuries today, please?"

"Okay, I'll let everyone know that today, you're going to take it easy, but you're not an invalid. Will that make you happy?" He asked her.

"Yes, it will. Have I told you that I love you lately?" She asked him.

"I think I've heard it once or twice, but I could never get tired of hearing it. I love you too Jess." He said, and kissed her before going over to help Danny cook the food.

She watched him with Danny as they cooked, Lindsay and Sid were at the table setting the plates and things out, and Sid's wife, Jenny and Hawkes were sitting near the table talking and laughing. Jess knew that Hawkes came with Sid and his family, and that Sid's wife and Hawkes had been life long friends. She was pretty sure that Hawkes was Kelly and Katrina's Godfather too.

Adam and Kendall showed up next, bringing the chips and fruit salad, and of course Adam snatched Lucy away from the girls and laid down on the blanket on the grass to play with her. Kendall laughed and shook her head, but joined them on the ground too. Lucy loved Adam, he was almost on her level, a big kid. He gave her a stuffed bear and she giggled and bounced it on the blanket.

Finally Stella and Mac showed up and that made everyone that was coming. Mac walked over to Lindsay and handed her a couple of small bowels. She looked at it and then at him. "Whats' this Mac?" She asked him.

"I told you that I had a surprise for Lucy. She can't eat what we're eating, so I made her something that she can eat and will like for dinner. It's an old family recipe that Sid taught me that he used to make for his girls when they were babies. It's home made potato soup with bacon bits in it, and she should be able to eat it with no problem. And I promise she will love it. I also brought her a sugar free pudding to eat while we have pie." Mac told her as he handed her the bowels.

Lindsay teared up and hugged him. "Thank you so much Mac, thanks for thinking of Lucy like you did. I was just gonna feed her baby food, but now it seems unfair that we have a party and she is stuck with what she eats everyday."

Danny watched the scene and moved over to them, leaving Flack to work the grill. "Hey boss, what's going on, why is my wife crying?" He asked.

Lindsay smiled and handed Danny the bowels. "Mac made a special meal for Lucy today. I'm crying because it means a lot to me that he did this. Now, go get him a beer." She said.

"And I thought I was over with the mood swings." He kidded as he kissed her and went to get Mac a beer.

Stella moved over to where Jess was sitting and sat down next to her. "How are you holding up Jess?" She asked.

Jess smiled and took a drink of the water she had. "I'm okay Stella, I rested yesterday so that I could enjoy today. Don promised to not fuss over me today and let me just have fun. I was given a few days off from my physical therapy so that I wouldn't be sore for today. I still have four more weeks of medical leave, then when I do go back, I'm on light duty. The Captain said that I could go back to work as Don's partner, but only because he knows that Don won't let me over do it."

"That's good to hear Jess. We miss you around the lab and the crime scenes. We're all just glad that you're okay. When we all thought that you were dead, it was awful. Don was a mess, until Sid realized that you were still alive. It's a good thing that he didn't let them start the autopsy right away." She told Jess.

"You're telling me. I tried to make myself make some kind of a noise, but I couldn't move or even make a noise. I was listening to what Don was telling Sid and I felt myself crying. I was so sure that Don would see the tears in my eyes, but he was in too much pain to see it. Thank God for Sid and his talking, he was telling them that I was a special person to all of you and he moved his hand over my face and felt the tears. I thought he was going to hit that guy as he told them that I wasn't dead." Jess told the story for the millionth time. No one got tired of hearing it.

Sid walked over to them. "Hey Jess, how are you doing?" He asked her.

"Hey Sid, my guardian angel. I'm doing pretty good. I have my good days and my bad days. Today is a good day."

He smiled at her and handed her a plate of food. "Well Don told me to bring this over to you. Oh, and he said not to take no for an answer. You need to eat, he told me to tell you."

Jess laughed and looked over to the grill where Don was looking back at her. She smiled and mouthed 'thank you' to him and picked up her fork. "Thanks Sid. Now why don't you go and eat with your family."

He nodded and walked off to do just that. Stella also got up and went to go and get herself something to eat. Jess watched Don come over with his own plate and sit next to her.

"This is all of the babying I'm doing today. I just wanted to make sure you ate something, okay?" He asked her as he took a bite of his burger.

Jess laughed. "Okay, as long as you promise no more babying me today. Thank you for the food Don." She put her plate on the table and leaned over to kiss him.

He smiled and returned her kiss. "Anytime babe, anytime."

Mac got everyone's attention and raised his glass. "To friends, family, and good food. But most importantly, to having Jess getting better, and hopefully back to work soon."

"Not too soon." Don said.

Mac and everyone laughed. "Right, not too soon. Happy Independence Day everyone." He finished the toast.

"Happy Independence Day." They all replied and they drank their drinks.

The end

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A/N: okay, here is my solution to how Jess is still alive. I hope that you all like this one. I just want to say Happy 4th of July to everyone who celebrates it, and please have a safe and happy independence day. Happy Birthday America. Please review, but please be kind, I couldn't let Jess die.


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